Black Flag co-founder Greg Ginn has lost his bid to prevent former bandmates Keith Morris and Henry Rollins from using the group's iconic logo and name.

The punk icon filed a lawsuit against Morris' reunited band, who are touring as Flag, in August (13), claiming he owned group's famous barcode emblem. He alleged both Morris and fellow frontman Rollins had previously attempted to trademark the band's name and logo - and failed.

But a U.S. District Court judge in California has denied Ginn's motion for a preliminary injunction against his former bandmates, ruling that the punk star was unable to prove sufficiently that he owned the name or logo.

The defendants submitted evidence that showed that the name and logo had fallen into "generic use".

And the judge decided fans could tell the difference between Black Flag and Morris' new act, who are set to perform at the Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas next month (08Nov13).

Ginn's new-look Black Flag will be touring Australia in November (13).